Wierd Happenings with my Oly C-8080

This is very strange. It happened once in Bonaire about a year ago, then cleared up, now happening again: I'm using a C-8080 with a PT housing and Inon D-2000 strobe. Everything is charged and completely functioning. When I get into the water and down at cruising level, I turn the camera on for a pic, and without pushing any other buttons, the screen stays blank for about 6 seconds, then the AF engages on its own and goes in, then out, in then out, then the screen goes blank again - then I get a blue screen saying "card error". This is a 1/2 gig card that is maybe 6 month old with no photos on it. Once I get to the surface, it seems to work fine, taking regular photos both topside and just below surface level.

I've looked at Oly's site, and I know they have the download to fix AF problems, but I'm running Vista, so that won't help. Anyone have this problem or any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

I've seen "card error" on other cameras; and it has several causes:

1) Light corrosion on the card contacts, either on the card &/or in the camera;

2) Improper formatting, i.e. FAT32 when only FAT16 is supported;

3) Counterfeit card that is dodgy at best -- Especially if you bought it on eBay from a "dealer." (Popular Photography or Shutterbug (I forget which) just had an article on just this a month or two ago; and in fact even I have been bit. )

4) Rarely for xD, but mainly for CF Type 1 and (especially) Type II (MicroDrive): Use of an "OEM" card that is designed for an MP3 player that are crippled, i.e. they don't meet the specs. If you go on to eBay and look up Hitachi MicroDrive, you'll see that almost all of the 4, 5 & 8 gB drives are in OEM packaging: They have been pulled from (especially) Apple iPods, as well as other MP3 players. [Apple started the trend of ordering MD cards that did NOT meet the ATA 1.4 spec, i.e. they were intentionally crippled for use in other devices... Such as cameras.];

5) Cooler temps causing a dip in the battery voltage: When you're "down at cruising level," what is the water temp at depth?

My suggestions for your Olympus C-8080:

A] Go to Staples, Circuit City, or other chain retailer and pick up a new CF card in the manufacturers package. CF is better to use, because it is more rugged than xD, which can flex. DPReview doesn't say whether your camera supports FAT32 (cards over 2047 MB), so for this troubleshooting, don't get a card over 2.0 gB;

B] Make sure you format the card in the camera itself;

C] Get a new battery; as the old one (especially if it's the original, which is over 3 years old) may be getting weak, especially at cooler temps;

D] Put the camera in the UW housing (to protect from condensation during this test) and stick it in the fridge for 30-45 minutes; then pull it out, power it up, and see if the problem replicates.

Hope this generic advice helps!

This is very strange. It happened once in Bonaire about a year ago, then cleared up, now happening again: I'm using a C-8080 with a PT housing and Inon D-2000 strobe. Everything is charged and completely functioning. When I get into the water and down at cruising level, I turn the camera on for a pic, and without pushing any other buttons, the screen stays blank for about 6 seconds, then the AF engages on its own and goes in, then out, in then out, then the screen goes blank again - then I get a blue screen saying "card error". This is a 1/2 gig card that is maybe 6 month old with no photos on it. Once I get to the surface, it seems to work fine, taking regular photos both topside and just below surface level.

 

I've looked at Oly's site, and I know they have the download to fix AF problems, but I'm running Vista, so that won't help. Anyone have this problem or any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Couple of other suggestions as I had this problem MANY times with my Olympus 3040z

However, you seem to have a depth related problem from your story. I am wondering if one of a few things is happening. I am wondering if you have the camera in the housing perfectly. I know that if you have the zoom switch in the wrong orientation when you insert the camera it can cause problems (ie it's not aligned right) the camera zoom trigger is spring loaded to return to center but the housing one is not so they don't always align, on my camera this caused me to not be able to operate ANY other controls, who knows what this does if it happens on yours.

Secondly I am wondering if one of the buttons on yoru camera housing has a weak spring or needs a service, it could be that at depth one of the buttons is being depressed by the pressure and causing these problems .. when on a dive you can check by looking at the buttons and or trying to pull them out (like the spring would push them out) to see if relieving pressure from the buttons alleviates the problem.

Lastly Olympus love their own cards, for example many features normally only work on an Olympus card (panorama and others) you may find this to be a tiny part of the problem. Formatting the card in the camera can help any card problems .. but the only way to know for sure if it is a card problem is to put a new card in the camera, but i dont see how that is depth related.

And also Dans suggestion of putting your camera in the fridge, um I wouldn't bother you didn't mention any battery life problems ? the camera isn't shutting down on it's own is it ? I don't think the temperature in Bonaire ever gets to fridge temperatures either .. so it seems like a pretty stupid place to be putting your camera.

Couple of other suggestions as I had this problem MANY times with my Olympus 3040z

 

However, you seem to have a depth related problem from your story. I am wondering if one of a few things is happening. I am wondering if you have the camera in the housing perfectly. I know that if you have the zoom switch in the wrong orientation when you insert the camera it can cause problems (ie it's not aligned right) the camera zoom trigger is spring loaded to return to center but the housing one is not so they don't always align, on my camera this caused me to not be able to operate ANY other controls, who knows what this does if it happens on yours.

 

Secondly I am wondering if one of the buttons on yoru camera housing has a weak spring or needs a service, it could be that at depth one of the buttons is being depressed by the pressure and causing these problems .. when on a dive you can check by looking at the buttons and or trying to pull them out (like the spring would push them out) to see if relieving pressure from the buttons alleviates the problem.

 

Lastly Olympus love their own cards, for example many features normally only work on an Olympus card (panorama and others) you may find this to be a tiny part of the problem. Formatting the card in the camera can help any card problems .. but the only way to know for sure if it is a card problem is to put a new card in the camera, but i dont see how that is depth related.

And also Dans suggestion of putting your camera in the fridge, um I wouldn't bother you didn't mention any battery life problems ? the camera isn't shutting down on it's own is it ? I don't think the temperature in Bonaire ever gets to fridge temperatures either .. so it seems like a pretty stupid place to be putting your camera.

Trust me, any advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated! I am in Cozumel, where the water temp is a very comfortable 82 degrees. The Xd card is an Olympus brand, and came with the camera. I double checked for corrosioon anywhere, and everything looks good. I just re-formattted the card, and will be in the water shortly, so keep your fingers crossed. Thanks again for the tips, and I'll report back!

I would go for a button being depressed at depth then.

If it is only depth related you have to think what changes the pressure is having. And thats all I could think of is going wrong. Check all the buttons and switches on the housing. (an easy way to see if they are being pushed in is to dive the housing empty (normally the buttons go in further and are more noticeable then) if one goes in on it's own at depth you have found the problem.

This is very strange. It happened once in Bonaire about a year ago, then cleared up, now happening again: I'm using a C-8080 with a PT housing and Inon D-2000 strobe. Everything is charged and completely functioning. When I get into the water and down at cruising level, I turn the camera on for a pic, and without pushing any other buttons, the screen stays blank for about 6 seconds, then the AF engages on its own and goes in, then out, in then out, then the screen goes blank again - then I get a blue screen saying "card error". This is a 1/2 gig card that is maybe 6 month old with no photos on it. Once I get to the surface, it seems to work fine, taking regular photos both topside and just below surface level.

 

I've looked at Oly's site, and I know they have the download to fix AF problems, but I'm running Vista, so that won't help. Anyone have this problem or any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Couple of other things (though it is weird that it happened a year ago then not again until now), but as an aside (a) get cards for both slots (CF and XD) so if one goes out you can switch off to the other card and (B) get some larger cards (that does not help with the issue per se, but gives you more room ) Also double check to see if the camera is seated properly. And condensation can cause some weird things so do keep an eye out for that.

As to XD cards, I stick with Olympus but many CF cards have worked fine.

I never had card errors on my 8080 so far, though I did have an issue where the shutter button itself was stuck. Worked fine on the surface, but was depressed in so would not work in the housing.

OK friends, thanks again for the suggestions. I just returned from two dives - once again, no problem on land or just under the surface. At depth (between 90' and 40'), same problem. Last night I did go over the housing with a fine tooth comb and checked that all the buttons were engaging properly, which they were. This morning, after reading your comments, I double checked all buttons with the camera in the housing, and none seem to be sticking.

And, unfortunatey, still no response from Olympus, so I'll keep working with your ideas. Tommorrow, I'll change the card out to a different one, and add a second.

Oh well, I was kind of wanting a DSLR anyway, so this might be a great excuse! Thanks again for all of your comments!

If it is happening between 40' and 90' continuously this is almost definitely a button being depressed at depth

33' is where the pressure doubles .. so it would make sense that sometime JUST after the biggest pressure change of a dive the problem occurs.

It's like the little disposable film cameras that are water proof. They say 15' max depth or some even 30'

The cameras don't flood (ok maybe some do) if you go deeper, but what happens is the shutter button gets FORCED in by the water pressure so the pressure makes it take one photo and you can't use it until the pressure is relieved. (little trick just suck on the button and release while aiming and you can take another photo)

It is almost certainly something along these lines. My first guess would be the shutter button or zoom buttons. but any of the back menu buttons could be doing it too. You will only be able to work it out whilst diving, and if the camera is not in the housing (which what is the point if it isn't working anyway) then the button that is causing the problem will push in on it's own and with no camera to stop it the button will go much further in making it more noticeable.

end solution for the trip .. block off the button from the inside using some tape or something ... best solution send off for service and have button replaced.

I know most of this is repeated, but i hoped to make myself clearer, memory cards don't fail at depth it is something to do with the housing.

I second Giles, it sound to me a pressure related issue instead a camera or card error...

Well, certainly sounds logical to me that perhaps this is what's happening, merely based on the fact that it's happening only at depth and not on the surface. I'll take it down again in the next couple of days and check it out down at 80' or so with a flashlight so I can really see the buttons. Thanks again, and will keep you posted. Hopefully this'll help anyonoe else who experiences this one!